Buffy Season Six, Episode 6 Dusted
by Andciritien
Summary: This is ep 6 cuz my first 5 r handwritten! so far oz and will have gotten married, angel's back, and will's just been told that oz isn't a wolf anymore. plz rr!


Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Season 6 Episode 6 

"Dusted"

I was dazed. I sat in the MagicBox, for a long time after Giles left. I had been waiting for this day, this moment, for such a long time, but now that it was here, I didn't know what to do.

The amazing news was that Oz, my beloved Oz, was able to control the werewolf inside him. I was so happy, but at the same time, I was more than terrified, blocking out the happiness.

I knew this news would confuse Oz. He needed to understand this thing inside him, so that he could live with it, and if he couldn't…he might leave, to figure things out. And I didn't want him to leave. I needed him so much. Last time Oz left to figure things out, he ended up in Tibet for a couple of months.

The bell above the door tinkled as Buffy and Dawn entered. Dawn was positively glowing with happiness, and Buffy looked very motherly and proud. Intrigued, I turned to them.

"Hey. What's going on?" I asked.

"Dawn got asked out on a date today." Buffy gushed.

"Oh Dawn, that is so sweet. Who is the lucky guy?" I smiled.

"Justin. He's in my Phys Ed class." Dawn blushed.

"Cool. What's he like?" I asked. Buffy and Dawn sat down beside me, and Dawn started gushing about her beloved Justin.

"Oh Will, he is so hot. He has the cutest smile…" 

For the rest of the afternoon, we gossiped about guys. We swapped advice, and funny stories, little secrets. It was a very girly thing, and I enjoyed it a lot. We rarely had time to just hang.

"Oh, there was this one time and it was so sweet," I began.

"With Oz?" Dawn asked.

"Uh huh. So anyway, we were getting ready for prom, and I was freaking out because of the hellhound guy. Do you remember Buffy?"

"Yup." Buffy nodded.

"So I was really freaked out and Oz was trying to distract me, so he asked me to fix his hair, to calm me down." I smiled.

"Oh, that is so sweet!" Dawn giggled.

"Isn't it?" I agreed. 

The door swung open again, and Oz entered. Dawn looked up at him and stifled a giggle. Oz smiled curiously at her.

"Ok, what did I miss?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing." I lied. I smiled at him and kissed his lips gently. He was quite warm, and I held him for a minute.

"Hi. How was your day?" He asked.

"Good. How was yours?"

"I don't know. It was Ok, I guess." he sat down beside me and I rested my hand on his knee.

"Are we still on for tonight?" Oz asked Buffy. She nodded, and gave a little Buffy-like shrug, that was so like her.

"Yeah. It'll be…Ok, I wanna say fun, but I don't think it will be." Buffy said thoughtfully.

"What's tonight?" I enquired.

"I'm going patrolling with Buffy." Oz explained, looking at me.

"Oh." I felt kinda left out, I didn't even know about this, but I didn't dwell on it. Dwelling on negative feelings leads to negative actions.

"But I won't be that late. We're going out early. We can do something later." Oz promised. I perked up at that thought.

"Ok." 

The door swung open again and Giles entered. He looked extremely confused as if he had a lot of important information. He bustled behind the counter and looked up at me.

"Willow, can I speak with you please?" He asked hurriedly. I stood, and looked at the others, who were all looking very curious, except Oz, who was examining a Wicca book.

"Uh sure."

"Hey Giles. Are you Ok?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, I'm fine Buffy." Giles said distractedly. I followed Giles into Buffy's training room that was filled with weapons, dummies, vaulting horses etc. It was very Slayer like. He closed the door behind him and I sat down on a chair. Giles sat opposite me, and began flicking through a big book in his lap.

"Giles, what's up?"

"It's about Oz." That caught my attention instantly. If there was something going on about Oz, then I wanted to know.

"What about him?"  
"The werewolf nature inside him, it is literally fighting with his humanity. And Oz is winning."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that Oz's werewolf nature will eventually get so weak that he won't change at all on the full moon." Giles explained.

"Seriously?"  
"Yes. So, he won't have to lock himself up anymore. He might morph slightly, but not much."

"Giles, how do you know all this?"

"I went back to my apartment, and did some more research. It seems most adult werewolves go through this phase around Oz's age, but only a handful actually win over the beast inside them. Oz must be…extremely strong, both physically and mentally. He must be feeling a little tired, as this is a side effect as to what is happening inside him, but I doubt he actually knows what is going on. Not yet anyway."

"Wow Giles, this is amazing." I beamed.

"Quite. I thought you'd be happy. When will you tell Oz this great news? He will be thrilled to know." I looked guiltily at him.

"Well, actually, I wasn't planning on telling him straight away." I muttered to my sneaker-clad feet.

"Why not?"

"Giles, it'll really confuse him, and I don't want him to leave like last time."

"Willow, he deserves to know."

"Ok, I'll tell him, I promise." I got up and went back into the MagicBox where Oz was waiting.

"What was that all about?" Oz asked.

"Nothing really." I shrugged.

"You wanna go home?" Oz suggested. I took his hand and led him out into the sunshine.

"Bye guys!" I called behind us.

"Later!" Buffy called back with a wave.

A dense blanket of darkness and danger had descended upon Sunnydale. Oz and Buffy made their way through the eerily quiet RestEasy cemetery. The wind made the trees hiss and whisper and a slight mist curled around their ankles. Buffy gripped her stake tightly and pulled an extra stake out for Oz. She handed it to him, and adjusted his grip. 

"Be quiet." Buffy whispered. Oz nodded and held the stake tightly in his left hand. He moved silently, and quickly. Adrenalin pumped through Buffy's veins. She cocked her head and listened intently. 

She spun round as two vampires jumped from the bushes. They both body tackled her, and all three of them went tumbling to the ground. Oz sprung into action and grabbed one of the vamps. He punched it hard and sent it reeling back to the ground. He was about to stake it when it kicked him solidly on the jaw. Stars exploded in Oz's head and he fell onto his back. The vamp got up and ran off, and Oz followed it into the woods.

He chased it for a while, but it disappeared into the trees. Oz took a deep breath, feeling a sharp pain in his ribs, and was about to go back and get Buffy when he heard a voice behind him.

"Well, it's Wolfboy." Spike sneered. Oz spun round, gripping the stake threateningly. A look of fear flitted across Spike's face.

"What do you want Spike?"

"Well, I suppose I can't really call you Wolfboy any more." Spike added thoughtfully.

"What are you talking about?"  
"I wasn't spying, exactly, but I overheard an interesting conversation."

"With who?" Oz asked curiously.

"You little wife and the watcher."

"Will and Giles?"

"That's them. Giles actually said something quite interesting. What was it? Oh, yeah he said, "It means that Oz's werewolf nature will eventually get so weak that he won't change on the full moon." I thought that was really interesting." Spike teased.

"I'm not a werewolf anymore?" Oz asked quietly.

"Nope. And Willow knew. She told Giles that she wasn't going to tell you. Isn't that just disgraceful?"

"Of course she would have told me." Oz disagreed, knowing that Spike was just trying to annoy him.

"Don't be so sure. Ask her about it." Spike suggested before disappearing into the shadows.

"OZ!" Buffy called. In a daze, Oz made his way back to Buffy. He looked strangely vacant. He felt more than confused.

"Oz, where did you go?"

"A vamp got away." he muttered slowly.

"Ok. Are you feeling ill or something?" Buffy asked.

"I'm fine."

"Let's go." Buffy gently tugged on Oz's arm and led him away.

I was so excited. I had lit candles all around the room, and I had bewitched our roof to resemble the starry sky outside. I had made a special dinner and had got all dressed up. It had been so long since Oz and I had really sat down together. I missed that, but I knew it was necessary.

The door swung open and Oz entered. He looked bewildered and tired. He took off his dark blue jacket and hung it up on the coat rack. He sat down on the bed and rested his head in his hands.

"Oz, are you Ok?" I asked quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He never looked up.

"Tell you what?" I tried to sound confused, even though I knew what he was talking about.

"About the werewolf thing?"

"I don't know." I lied.

"Yeah you do Will. You know how much the whole werewolf thing confuses me."

"I'm sorry Oz, I just…"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me. Spike told me."

"Oz, please…" I gasped as a rumble of thunder roared in the distance. The sky had changed to a stormy grey, and rain was pouring down.

"I need to go." Oz got up.

"Go? Where?" I got up too.

"I don't know." Oz headed towards the door. I grabbed his wrist, but he pulled away from me. He opened the door and left, leaving his jacket behind. I hastily grabbed my coat and followed him out the door.

"Oz, wait!" I called after him. He was quite far ahead of me. He reached and elevator and pressed the button. By the time the lift arrived, I was right behind him. I slid into the lift.

It was small, with silvery walls and a cheery tune. It was empty. Oz turned his back on me.

"Oz, please listen to me. I'm sorry about not telling you. But I didn't want you to leave again." Oz turned to me.

"Leave?"

"Well, the last time you got confused you left and I didn't see you for months." I explained. Oz's expression softened.

"I'm sorry too Will." He smiled and wrapped his arms around me. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"Spike!" I grinned.

"Spike?"

"There's something fishy going on. Giles told me about you're werewolf thing today, in the MagicBox. I didn't see Spike in there." I informed him.

"That is interesting." Oz agreed.

"Should we call Buffy?" I asked. Oz looked at his watch.

"Not now. She's on her date with Angel." He said.

"Right." I nodded.

"So…what will we do?" Oz raised his eyebrows. I kissed him.

"I think we should go upstairs." Oz kissed my hand.

"We don't need upstairs." He grinned. He pressed a button on the elevator and the doors closed.

"What are you doing!" I giggled. The lift had barely started to rise when Oz pressed the Stop button.

"Are you claustrophobic?" He teased.

"No." I kissed him on the lips.

"I hope this lift doesn't start up again." Oz breathed as he kissed my neck.

"Wait." I pulled away from him and pointed my finger at the floor. "Alokamaira!" I muttered. The lift gave a little jolt before becoming totally still. I turned to Oz.

"It won't move now. Unless we make it." I raised my eyebrows suggestively.

"We should test it, just to make sure." Oz smiled.

"Fine by me." I grinned naughtily.

Angel's house was silent and still. He flicked on the lights, and flung his long black leather jacket on the floor. He was so tired, and sad.

The date was fun. Angel had taken Buffy to the movies, and they saw an old Disney film called Pinocchio. It was nice, to sit in the darkness, with Buffy's hand in his, and just forget everything. But then it was over, and he had to drop Buffy off and come home alone. He ached with loneliness. He opened his fridge and took out the phial of glowing liquid that Oz had made, the Hyoata concoction or something. It was to make Angel safer; to trap his soul into Angel's body just in case something went wrong. Angel couldn't afford to lose his soul again. He drank it all in one swallow.

A scuffle of shoes caught Angel's attention. His piercing gaze swept the room, searching every corner. A voice snarled in the darkness. Angel recognised it instantly.

"Spike." Angel muttered. Sure enough, Spike stepped out of the shadows. His long coat swirled around him, like a cape. His silvery blonde hair shone in the artificial light.

"Angel. You're home late. And you're drinking magic potion. Tsk tsk. Got addicted huh? Well if that lil'…"

"Spike, what do you want?"

"Have you seen Drusilla lately?"

"No." Angel looked away. The mere mention of Drusilla's name sent tidal waves of guilt washing over him.

"Well, it appears she worked a little mojo and turned herself human. Do you know what she done then?"

"No."

"She hung herself." Angel reeled in shock. Guilt drowned him in its powerful black waves, drawing him in, filling his lungs, his heart, his brain and soul. He was drowning in it.

"She…hung herself?"

"Yup. And she left a note. For you." Spike pulled a pale envelope from his pocket and handed it to Angel. With that, he left.

With shaking hands, Angel opened the envelope and slid out the note. It read:

"Angelus,

It is I, your poodle. I have decided to go find my family. Oh, I can't, because you ripped their throats out. Oh well. I can still go find them in Hell. Goodbye, darling Angelus, and I'll be seeing you in hell soon I will save you and your little Slayer a seat, because you will definitely be joining me soon. Tell me, darling Angelus, did you like it? Did my blood flow into your mouth like wine? Did my little sister's blood warm your bitterly cold heart? I hope it did. Because I lived a whole lifetime of pain in the mere time of a couple of months, and it is all your doing. You will burn Angelus, you will burn.

Love, hate, tragedy.

Drusilla."

Angel ripped the note into a hundred tiny pieces, and sent them scattering all over the stone floor. He was unable to breath because of the remorse that filled every inch of his body. He was beyond guilt, he felt so worthless. It was as if he had nothing to live for, after what he had done. 

He stumbled over to his cabinet, and pulled a long sword from it. He took the sword form it's cover, and slid the sharp silver blade across his wrist. He knew it wouldn't kill him, but all he wanted was to drown out the pain and Drusilla's mutterings from his ears.

Spike laughed to himself. It had been so long since he had inflicted some good old-fashioned pain on Angel. He rubbed the back of his platinum hair covered head as he walked slowly though Sunnydale. That doctor had not been gentle with that knife. But it had been worth it, because, finally, his chip was out, and he was now able to attack humans, and feed on pure human blood. Bliss.

His plan was working to the letter. First, he had separated the golden couple, the two Wiccas, who were most likely to figure out what was going on. He thought it would be harder to separate them than it actually was. Now Angel was taken care of, feeling too guilty to even leave his mansion, which meant he wouldn't interfere. Giles was lying unconscious in the basement of the MagicBox, after suffering a nasty blow to the head due to a small statuette, and Spike had taken extra care to lock the basement door behind him. Now all he had to do was get rid of Xander and Anya, and he'd have a clear shot at Buffy and Dawn. His stomach growled with hunger, and he grinned again to himself.

Xander hummed along with the Garth Brooks CD. Anya was in the bath, and Xander had been ordered to tidy the den before Oz and Willow came over. Xander smiled to himself. Anya had always been jealous of Oz and Willow, and Xander knew exactly how she felt. They were both so smart, so powerful, and sure of their relationship.

A scream erupted from the bathroom. Xander's heart leapt, but he found his way to the bathroom and kicked the door down.

Anya was only wearing a towel, and Spike had his vamp face on, and his teeth were poised, ready to strike, over Anya's throat.

"Xander!" Anya cried. Xander took a step forward, but Spike pulled Anya back viciously by her hair.

"Try it moron and I'll rip her throat out." Spike growled.

"Spike, chip, remember?"

"You idiot! The chip's gone." Spike grinned. Xander's face melted into an expression of pure terror.

"Spike, let her go." He muttered quietly.

"Why?"

"I'll…pay you." Xander suggested. Spike smiled.

"Don't think so Monkey Boy." Spike grabbed Anya by the hair and held her head under the bath water for more than a moment. Xander ran forward, but Spike punched him hard across the face and sent him crumbling to the ground. He watched as Anya stopped struggling against his grip. Then he pulled her out of the water and made sure she was still breathing. He handcuffed her to the pipe under the sink and he tied Xander to the balcony. Spike wanted them to be alive, so that they would have to again suffer the grief of losing Buffy, and their beloved Dawn. He raided their fridge and Xander's wallet, and then he left.

Oz and I finally made it upstairs. I could barely believe what we had done. I made us something to eat, and I was about to get changed into my pyjamas, when I remembered. 

"Oz, we were supposed to go to Xander's!" I cried. Oz looked calmly at his watch, and shrugged.

"We've still got plenty of time if you want to go over."

"No, there really isn't much point now."

"I guess not. We'll go over tomorrow."

"Yeah, I think we should."

"Maybe we should call to tell them we're not coming." Oz suggested.

"That's a good idea." I picked up the phone and dialled Xander's number. It rang out. After a few minutes, I hung up and turned to Oz. "They're not home." I said, not thinking anything of it.

Spike slid easily into Buffy's house through the basement window. He had decided on his way over to attack her during the day, when she was alone in the house. Then he would let Dawn see her dead body, before he ate Dawn. He licked his lips with anticipation. 

Spike searched the basement, looking for a place to sleep. He finally decided on a small corner, out of the light. He was taking off his jacket when he realised there was a long slash of it missing in the arm. That Anya must have grabbed some of the leather and ripped a patch off. He shrugged, curled the coat up into a pillow like shape and lay down to sleep.

It was a lovely day, and Oz and I decided to walk to Xander's. We strolled along hand in hand, through the sunshine.

When we reached Xander's, the front door was unlocked. I pushed it open and slid inside. It was empty.

"Xander? Anya?" I called. I heard a quiet voice shouting back. It was Xander.

"Will, out here!" He shouted. I opened the balcony door to reveal Xander handcuffed to the railing, dry blood staining the skin under his nose.

"Hey Xander." Oz smiled slightly.

"What happened?" I asked as I magicked the cuffs off with a few choice Latin words that roughly translated into "Bend to my will, break to my power".

"Spike. His chip is out." Xander croaked.

"Where's Anya?" Oz pointed out.

"Bathroom. I think Spike…drowned her." Xander gripped Oz' arm. I opened the bathroom door. Anya was in there, chained to a pipe under the sink. I kneeled over her and pressed my fingers to her neck, looking for a pulse.

"It's Ok Xander, she's alive." I informed him as Anya's cuffs glowed yellow and fell away.

"Buffy." Oz said.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"Spike. He's gone after Buffy. He took us out, one by one. He tried to break us up, figuring we'll be too heartbroken to realise what's going on. And he took care of Xander and Anya." Oz muttered.

"What about Angel?" I asked.

"I don't know." Oz shook his head.

"We need to get to Buffy's. Straight away." I said.

"No. If Spike's there, he'll kill us. We need back up." Oz suspected.

"Angel." With that, Oz and I left to go get Angel.

Angel was lying face down on his cold stone floor when we arrived. There was a pool of blood under his body. I rushed over to him, and rolled him onto his back, noticing how pale he was looking, even for him.

"Oh god Angel." I breathed. Long slash marks were drawn across Angel's pale wrists, and up his arms.

"He slit his wrists?" Oz was unbelieving. Still, he began to shake Angel. "Angel, wake up." After a minute of shaking, Angel's soulful eyes flickered open.

"Oz? What's going on?" 

"Come on, get up." Oz tried to heave Angel to his feet.

"No, Oz I want to be alone." Angel pulled his arm from Oz's grip.

"Angel, come on." Oz begged.

"No." It went on like that for about 5 minutes. Then, with anger pounding in my veins, I started to shout at Angel.

"LISTEN ANGEL! SPIKE IS GOING TO KILL BUFFY IF WE DON'T GET TO HER!" That seemed to knock some sense into Angel. He got up and pulled on his jacket, looking ready for a fight.

"Come on." The broody look had vanished, and had been replaced with fury and determination.

Spike waited until Dawn had left for school. He would get her later, after she had seen Buffy's dead body. He listened intently to the footsteps and voices of the Summers' girls. Dawn couldn't find her right shoe, and Buffy burnt some toast. But finally, Dawn left.

Spike got up very slowly, being careful not to make any noise, or step into a patch of sunlight. He lit a cigarette as he climbed the stairs. 

Buffy was humming a little tune to herself as she washed the dishes. Spike stood in the doorway for a moment, almost shaking with anticipation. This would be his best kill to date, he was sure of that. And he wanted to savour every moment of it.

"Morning Pet." Spike sneered. Buffy gasped and dropped the plate she was holding. It shattered into a hundred blue, china pieces. She gave herself a mental shake, visibly calming herself down.

"Spike, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked angrily.

"I'm hungry."

"So? What am I supposed to do about it?"

"I thought you might have some blood."

"Well I don't. You better get going."

"I don't want to."

"Spike don't make me hit you." Buffy sounded fed up more than anything.

"Go on then." Buffy stepped forward, but before she could hit Spike, he punched her, hard across the jaw. Buffy was completely stunned. She flew across the room, and banged her head off the wall. Spike grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the hall before the door. He vamped out and flung her to the floor. 

"Don't worry. This won't hurt a bit." Spike lied. He straddled her before digging his fangs deep into her jugular vein, as she screamed in sheer agony.

Angel sat in the back of Oz's van, all curled up, protecting himself from the sunlight. Every few minutes, I would look back into the depths of the van.

"Angel are you Ok?" I asked.

"Yeah." He pulled the blanket around his head. "Uh, Oz?"

"Mmm?"

"How am I supposed to…you know, walk up to Buffy's door in the daylight?" Angel asked. Oz smiled.

"No problem. I'll tell you when we stop at Buffy's house." Oz promised.

"Sure." Angel hid under his blanket.

Buffy could feel her life draining out of her. Well, it was her blood that was draining out of her. She kept sending messages to her hands, to tell them to fight back. But she couldn't move, she felt so weak. And she knew that she would only survive for a few more minutes…

Oz stopped the van right outside Buffy's house. He scrambled to the back of the van and pulled the blanket off Angel. He held his hands above Angel's head and began to mutter in Latin.

"Duquam, senious, acoato, moinus." He smiled at Angel. "All done."

"What did you do?" Angel asked. I wanted to know too.

"It's a little incantation. It provides a temporary sun proof shield around whoever it's said over." Oz explained.

"Temporary?" Angel narrowed his eyes.

"Few minutes." Oz shrugged. Angel nodded.

"Let's go." Angel pushed open the door and jumped out into the sun.

Angel walked quickly up Buffy's path. In the sunlight, he looked even paler. He knocked on the door.

"Buffy?" He called. There was no answer. "BUFFY!" Angel called again. Still no answer. Before I could even contemplate it, Oz drew back his boot covered foot and kicked the door open.

Spike looked up. Buffy was in his arms, unconscious. Buffy's body was limp in Spike's arms, and Spike's mouth was covered in blood. Buffy's blood. Buffy's neck was bleeding. Spike morphed back into his normal face.

Angel punched Spike hard across the jaw. Spike went spinning, and Angel caught Buffy. He handed her to Oz. 

"Take care of her." He growled hoarsely, before morphing into vamp mode. Oz took Buffy into the living room and laid her down on the sofa. He took off his jacket and put it under Buffy's head. He took her pulse. When he pulled his fingers away, they were covered with blood. Oz pulled a bandana from his pocket and held it to the two small wounds in Buffy's jugular vein, trying to stop the blood that trickled slowly but surely down Buffy's neck.

"Willow, get an ambulance." I nodded and ran into the hall and picked up the phone. Angel and Spike were fighting in the kitchen.

"Hello, what service do you require?" A polite voice asked me.

"I need an ambulance."

"Where are you?"

"Uh…" My attention was grabbed by Oz, doing CPR. I dropped the phone and ran back to him.

"Oz, what's happening?" I cried. 

"She's stopped breathing. Will, get Angel. We don't have time to wait for an ambulance." He scooped Buffy up in his arms and headed out to the van. Buffy hung limply in his arms. I went to the kitchen, to get Angel.

Angel had Spike pinned down on the floor and he had a wooden spoon above Spike's head.

"You lied about Dru, didn't you?" Angel spat.

"I would never tell you." Spike sneered. Angel lowed the spoon a little.

"Yeah, you would." Angel growled. Spike raised his head and spat in Angel's face. Angel morphed back into vamp mode, his fangs gleaming.

"Go to hell Peaches." Angel stabbed Spike hard in the chest with the spoon. Spike cried in pain. 

"Why don't you?" Within seconds, Spike had turned to vamp dust. Angel got up and dusted himself off. He turned to me.

"Will, how's Buffy?" I began to sob.

"Angel, she's not breathing. We're taking her to the hospital." I took his hand and led him out into the sunshine. 

He cried with pain. But he didn't stop, he ran right into the back of the van. Oz was already sitting at the wheel. Buffy was laid out in the back. I went into the back with Angel.

Angel had Buffy in his arms. He was stroking her hair, and kissing her face. She was breathing again, but barely. 

"Buffy, please don't die. Please, stay with me." He whispered. Tears trickled down my face as I watched the warm exchange. Suddenly, Buffy's eyes flickered open and she took a deep breath.

"Angel?" Buffy asked, dazed.

"I'm here Buffy, I'll always be here." Angel promised.

"I love you." Buffy murmured. Her eyes rolled up into the back off her head, and she stopped breathing again.

"NO! Buffy wake up, please wake up." Angel pleaded as tears ran down his cheeks. He put Buffy down on her back.

"Willow, she's not breathing. Please help her." I nodded and began CPR. Suddenly, the van stopped.

"We're here." Oz opened the door and took Buffy in his arms. Angel got up to go with him.

"Angel, it's kinda sunny." Oz said, then he took Buffy into the ER. 

"Willow, I wanna be in there." 

"Angel, I don't know the incantation."

"Please, try." I racked my memory for the words that Oz had said before.

"Ok. Um…Duquam, senious, acoato, moinus." I chanted.

"Thanks." Angel nodded and jumped out the back of the van.

Buffy was in ICU all night. Then, at around midnight, Xander and Anya came, to lend their support.

"How is she?" Xander asked Angel. Angel didn't answer, he was staring into space. Giles spoke up.

"She is stable. We're waiting more to hear from the doctor." Giles explained. 

"Good." Xander flopped into a chair. I turned to Angel.

"Angel?" I said. He didn't even look up. Dawn was sitting beside him. She looked at me, and then to Angel. She took his hand in hers. He looked down at her gratefully.

"Angel, Buffy's going to be Ok." Dawn smiled slightly.

"Yeah." Angel squeezed Dawn's hand. A doctor approached us, with an expressionless face.

"Are you with Miss Summers?" She asked.

"Yes, we are." Giles nodded. 

"Well, she's sleeping now, but as soon as she wakes up, you can take her home." Angel stood.

"Thank you." Angel took Dawn's hand, and led her away down a corridor, to find Buffy.

Buffy came home the next day. She was still a little shook up, but otherwise, she was fine. Angel stayed over for a week or so. 

One night, Oz and I had gone over to see Buffy. The door was open, but there was no one downstairs.

"Where's Dawn?" I whispered as we climbed the stairs.

"She's staying with a friend." Oz answered. We reached the top landing. We opened the door to Buffy's bedroom.

Buffy and Angel were lying under the sheets, sleeping. We watched them for a moment. They both looked so peaceful. Then I realised that they didn't have any clothes on.

"Oz, Angel's soul!" I whispered loudly. Oz smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." He shut the door and led me back down the stairs. "I'll explain on the way home." He promised with a smile. 

We closed the door behind us, and Oz took my hand in his as we began to walk. I was confused, and interested at the same time. After a minute of silence, I spoke, curious to what he had done.

"Will you explain it to me now?" I asked lightly.

"Ok. Have you ever heard of the Hyoata concoction?" Oz asked.

"No." I confessed.

"It's a really complicated potion. It took me weeks to make it right."

"What does it do?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"It seals the soul inside the person it was supposed to be in." Oz explained.

"Seals the soul?" I clicked. "Angel." I murmured.

"It means that his soul can't leave his body. It's sealed in there, so the Romany curse has been lifted. Sort of. He still has his soul, but the one minute of happiness thing doesn't count any more. His soul is stuck in there."

"Oh, Oz, that's amazing. It'll mean so much to Buffy and Angel."

"I know. That's why I did it."

"You're such a good friend." I smiled at him.

"Angel asked me if I knew about the concoction, and if I could make it. I used the books in the MagicBox, and the ingredients in the MagicBox to make it."

"Was it hard?" I asked.

"Very." Oz confessed. "But it was worth it."

"Yeah, it was." I agreed. "We are so lucky." Oz squeezed my hand.

"We are." Oz smiled. "I love you." He kissed my hand. I kissed him back.

"I love you too. Forever."

"And ever." Oz approved.

We walked off into the sunlight, holding hands, and I couldn't believe how lucky I felt.


End file.
